Adbusters calls for a "spiritual insurrection" starting May 1

[starroute]

I'm not sure how much of this is wishful thinking and how much is real -- or could become real. But either way, there are a number of interesting ideas being presented.

http://www.adbusters.org/blogs/adbusters-blog/adbusters-tactical-briefing-26.html#.T05NMacQ1rY.facebook

Anarchic Swarms – The Emerging Model.
28 Feb 2012

#OCCUPYCHICAGO will be the focal point of this global spiritual insurrection… 50,000 of us will converge on the windy city and confront the G8 and NATO leaders with an ultimatum. We will set up impromptu encampments throughout the city and wage a full-spectrum memewar backed up by new tactics of anarchic swarming. Our militant in-your-face nonviolence will inspire thousands of towns, cities and campuses around the world to rise up in solidarity just like they did last October. . . .

On the CULTURAL FRONT we confront the corpo-commercial lie machine – we shift the way information flows and meaning is produced. We train a new breed of livestreamers, citizen journos and p2p visionaries and unleash them in the streets to be the eyes of the world during the month of May. . . .

On the PERSONAL FRONT, hundreds of millions of us vow to live the month of May without dead time… to experience joyous camaraderie… to open ourselves to an imminent life changing epiphany. We follow Miles Davis’ advice on how to play jazz: be spontaneously alive and “play what’s not there.”

Occupy has taught us all. It innovates, fractures, grows resilient and more diverse. In this spirit we celebrate the Gandhian ferocity of the Zuccottis who launched this movement with their magical assemblies and nonviolent ways … we extol the growing crop of working groups with their desire for a positive program of social and political change. And on the wild side we honor those in Oakland who have lost their fear against all odds. With this rainbow coalition, we hold our heads high and embrace the heady days of Spring. . . .

for the wild,
Culture Jammers HQ

[Jackpine Radical]

1. WooHoo

This is exactly the sort of thing that will bring ultimate success. Basically, Occupy can morph faster than the opposition can keep up. If anybody thinks that simple camp-outs will be the strategy again this year, they will b left in the dust. And of course, that's exactly what the Authorities are gearing up for. They're gonna be all prepared and armed to fight the last war. Just like always.

[snagglepuss]

2. Spot on. nt

[Lifelong Protester]

3. I second your analysis

Occupy will come in a whole new form this spring...

[roguevalley]

7. I wish I was there.

[Joseph8th]

13. OK, but how is "spirituality" a strategy... and whose "spirituality", if it even exists? nt

[Leopolds Ghost]

4. Now more than ever, we need the Jedi.

Last edited Thu Mar 1, 2012, 06:08 PM - Edit history (4)

Speaking of Adbusters, Chicago is the home of The Baffler... Thomas Frank's revolutionary culture criticism publication from the 90s and early 2000s that laid out the problem with corporatocracy, defusing subversive tendencies through corporate ownership of pop culture, and the populist agenda. Whatever happened to Thomas Frank? Is the Baffler still being published?

-----

[yodermon]

5. mayday. perfect

[ellisonz]

6. This is the sort of language that fueled the Abolitionist Movement.

The Liberator: "To the Public"

From The Liberator
January 1, 1831

To the Public

In the month of August, I issued proposals for publishing "THE LIBERATOR" in Washington city; but the enterprise, though hailed in different sections of the country, was palsied by public indifference. Since that time, the removal of the Genius of Universal Emancipation [Benjamin Lundy's anti-slavery newspaper] to the Seat of Government has rendered less imperious the establishment of a similar periodical in that quarter.

During my recent tour for the purpose of exciting the minds of the people by a series of discourses on the subject of slavery, every place that I visited gave fresh evidence of the fact, that a greater revolution in public sentiment was to be effected in the free states -- and particularly in New-England -- than at the south. I found contempt more bitter, opposition more active, detraction more relentless, prejudice more stubborn, and apathy more frozen, than among slave owners themselves. Of course, there were individual exceptions to the contrary. This state of things afflicted, but did not dishearten me. I determined, at every hazard, to lift up the standard of emancipation in the eyes of the nation, within sight of Bunker Hill and in the birth place of liberty. That standard is now unfurled; and long may it float, unhurt by the spoliations of time or the missiles of a desperate foe -- yea, till every chain be broken, and every bondman set free! Let southern oppressors tremble -- let their secret abettors tremble -- let their northern apologists tremble -- let all the enemies of the persecuted blacks tremble.

I deem the publication of my original Prospectus unnecessary, as it has obtained a wide circulation. The principles therein inculcated will be steadily pursued in this paper, excepting that I shall not array myself as the political partisan of any man. In defending the great cause of human rights, I wish to derive the assistance of all religions and of all parties.

Assenting to the "self-evident truth" maintained in the American Declaration of Independence, "that all men are created equal, and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights -- among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," I shall strenuously contend for the immediate enfranchisement of our slave population. In Park-street Church, on the Fourth of July, 1829, in an address on slavery, I unreflectingly assented to the popluar but pernicious doctrine of gradual abolition. I seize this opportunity to make a full and unequivocal recantation, and thus publicly to ask pardon of my God, of my country, and of my brethren the poor slaves, for having uttered a sentiment so full of timidity, injustice and absurdity. A similar recantation, from my pen, was published in the Genius of Universal Emancipation at Baltimore, in September, 1829. My consicence in now satisfied.

I am aware, that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. No! no! Tell a man whose house is on fire, to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hand of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; -- but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present. I am in earnest -- I will not equivocate -- I will not excuse -- I will not retreat a single inch -- AND I WILL BE HEARD. The apathy of the people is enough to make every statue leap from its pedestal, and to hasten the resurrection of the dead.

It is pretended, that I am retarding the cause of emancipation by the coarseness of my invective, and the precipitancy of my measures. The charge is not true. On this question my influence, -- humble as it is, -- is felt at this moment to a considerable extent, and shall be felt in coming years -- not perniciously, but beneficially -- not as a curse, but as a blessing; and posterity will bear testimony that I was right. I desire to thank God, that he enables me to disregard "the fear of man which bringeth a snare," and to speak his truth in its simplicity and power. And here I close with this fresh dedication:

Oppression! I have seen thee, face to face,
And met thy cruel eye and cloudy brow;
But thy soul-withering glance I fear not now --
For dread to prouder feelings doth give place
Of deep abhorrence! Scorning the disgrace
Of slavish knees that at thy footstool bow,
I also kneel -- but with far other vow
Do hail thee and thy hord of hirelings base: --
I swear, while life-blood warms my throbbing veins,
Still to oppose and thwart, with heart and hand,
Thy brutalising sway -- till Afric's chains
Are burst, and Freedom rules the rescued land, --
Trampling Oppression and his iron rod:
Such is the vow I take -- SO HELP ME GOD!

William Lloyd Garrison

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2928t.html

[donheld]

8. .

[glinda]

16. I like it.

[zeemike]

9. Well I hope it works.

Because we need creative solutions...
The one failing I see in the Occupy movement that makes it unlike the civil rights movement is the unwillingness to go to jail...and I can understand that
But what made non violent protest work in the civil rights movement and with Gandhi is the willingness to go to jail...
When the first two buses of the freedom riders left for Mississippi one of them was surrounded by the Klan and burned and the occupants assaulted...when the cops arrived they told the Klan..."OK you boys have had your fun, now go home"
The second buss made it to the buss terminal and there were cops there to protect the white waiting room and every one of them were arrested and put in Jail.
But that touched off a wave all over the country of young people...black and white who wanted to become freedom riders and were all willing to go to jail and Mississippi was overwhelmed and defeated at least in the bus station.
The sit ins at the lunch counter went the same way....when the ones sitting were arrested there was a line of people waiting to take their place.....it was a badge of honer among the young to be arrested for civil disobedience.

I hope creative solutions can be had that will work without putting your body on the line.

[starroute]

10. Unwillingness to go to jail??

According to the counter at http://occupyarrests.moonfruit.com/ as of two days ago there had been 6607 arrests of occupiers in 111 different cities in the US.

Just this past week, there were 34 on Wednesday, 10 on Monday, and 6 on Saturday.

[zeemike]

11. But that is not what I mean

When they did a sit in all the protesters would sit in and all would get arrested....which loaded up the jails and cost the locals a lot of money...
There was a scene out of the movie about Gandhi where they were demanding entrance to the salt mines that the British had guards posted on...when the first one stepped up an tried to enter the guard hit him with the but of a gun...he fell and the next one stepped forward and he too was hit and carried away....soon there was a long line of people standing waiting for their abuse...and the guards would just touch them on the cheek and go to the next one....and it became a futile exercise because when you meet non violence with violence you loose the support of decent people...same thing happened with the civil rights movement...when the burning buss was shown on TV to the American people the South cause was lost.

Remember the sit down where those kids were pepper sprayed? Had there been a line of hundreds to take their place when they were dragged off it would have been a whole different thing....there is power in unity of purpose and action.
But I do understand that this movement is not the same as the civil rights movement where a whole class of people were really brutalized in a systematic fashion

[starroute]

17. It may well come to that

The Wobblies were very into flooding to the locations of actions from all over the country and filling up the jails to the point where they went into gridlock -- and the anarchist wing of Occupy in particular is well aware of Wobbly tactics. I think we'll yet see something like what you describe.

[sabrina 1]

19. Well, I think you are wrong regarding the occupiers not being willing to go to jail.

They had extensive literature on what to do when arrested, before the first protest in NYC. They had already lined up The Lawyers Guild, and every protester has been given their number so they can call for legal assistance if they are arrested.

At GAs eg, before staging protests, the issue of arrests was always raised and those willing to be arrested made themselves known as they were asked to do. There was never any shortage of people willing to do so.

You can eg, see the results of the training they engage in regarding what to do when arrested, in most of the video after the cops show up and begin arresting people. The protesters have been instructed to get the names of those arrested and to ask the cops where they are being taken. The badge numbers of cops are recorded by other protesters. In many of the videos you can see the protesters making use of that training.

In fact there was intense discussion, not about how NOT to get arrested, but about how to act and what to do, once it happened. From the beginning they expected arrests and were very prepared for them. I doubt though, that they expected the brutality that occurred especially in Oakland with the near killing of two Iraq War Veterans or the brutality directed at those who were arrested in the jails or the police vans. Not that it was a surprise, and now of course they do expect it.

[zeemike]

21. Well I am sure I am wrong about a lot of things.

But my point is that if you have a sit in or something like it to block some entrance and the cops make some arrest and and take them to jail they win because they were able to do their job and the protesters were not.
But if when the first batch are arrested and more take there place and continue to take their place the cops cannot do their job and do not win...but the protesters do.
That is how civil disobedience worked during the civil rights time and how it worked with Gandhi.
But I am just an old fart and probably living in the past...but I was trying to be helpful because I am unable to put my body on the line.

[sabrina 1]

22. No, I think that is a very good idea, to have waves of people ready to take the place

of those arrested. Sorry if I misunderstood you.

I remember while watching the Egyptian protests that they used that technique and thought it was very effective.

I have not seen that suggested at any of the Occupy GAs which doesn't mean it has not been. But it should be, imo.

You were very helpful. I think that is a great tactic and I wonder why they have used it.

Again, I'm very sorry if I misunderstood

[zeemike]

24. No problem

I do sometimes come off as preachy.

[starroute]

23. It's what the Wobblies did -- and that should never go out of fashion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Workers_of_the_World#Organizing

The IWW first attracted attention in Goldfield, Nevada in 1906 and during the Pressed Steel Car Strike of 1909 at McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. Further fame was gained later that year, when they took their stand on free speech. The town of Spokane, Washington had outlawed street meetings, and arrested Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, a Wobbly organizer, for breaking this ordinance. The response was simple but effective: when a fellow member was arrested for speaking, large numbers of people descended on the location and invited the authorities to arrest all of them, until it became too expensive for the town. In Spokane, over 500 people went to jail and four people died. The tactic of fighting for free speech to popularize the cause and preserve the right to organize openly was used effectively in Fresno, Aberdeen, and other locations.

[zeemike]

25. I was not aware of that little piece of history

Thanks for that...going to look and see I if I can fine more about that...I like that kind of history....the kind you don't see in history books.

[Joseph8th]

12. One question: what does "spiritual insurrection" even mean?

Big supporter of Occupy movement here in my city, but I've noticed the trend since the new year toward "spiritualizing" the movement.

It's a disturbing trend. What does "spiritual insurrection" even mean? Nothing, to me, since the word "spiritual" is an empty box: a label attached to an empty space. From opening GAs with Native American prayers to Aryuvedic Medicine and solidarity with the Zapatistas over the solidarity with Detroit, the Occupy movement is going where only the fringe at the left of the 99% will go.

How about we get back to our "One Demand," AdBusters? Whatever happened to THAT?

[ellisonz]

14. It means to remove one's soul from the dominant paradigmatic...

...of social and economic relations of the time. It has no particular meaning beyond that, and as a I noted above, it has strong overtones from the American antislavery movement. I dare say Ralph Waldo Emerson himself would approve!

To respect those who choose to believe that there is such thing as a universal soul to which one can devote to in order to protest causes no great harm to those who wish to doubt such a notion. Tolerant multiculturalism is the way! Stop dividing, this is a question of fundamental justice, of whether we can in good conscience accept a nation in which the 1% feast while many of the 99% go hungry through no fault of their own, and to that I would add, no one deserves to go hungry, to suffer!

[Dont call me Shirley]

15. Spirituality means consciousness, awareness of a higher, saner way of being in the world.

[Leopolds Ghost]

18. I'm a spiritual person

Love & Tolerate!



The faith-based people in our Occupy are on the radical end of the spectrum. Of course, for those who are both mainstream progressives and skeptics, and for the "Seth McFarlane" wing, that isn't much of a vote of confidence.

One of the things that's nice about the central messaging that Anons and Adbusters adopted early on was the "do not divide the movement" principle in an effort to get beyond divisive social issues. Hopefully that extends to not making said social issues the center of focus.

Eccentric art projects should be undertaken in service of the movement but I don't think we need be countercultural for its own sake.

BTW this was something Thomas Frank advocated early on in The Baffler in how to start a radical populist movement, even before he wrote What's The Matter With Kansas. There's another guy who focused on the overclass meme as well, a guy who used to be an (ex-) Republican strategist. He wrote a book on the unification of the American overclass. I forget his name.

[starroute]

20. I take it to mean an indictment of existing society as spiritually hollow

It's not quite as fringe as you seem to think, since it encompasses everyone to the traditionally religious to Quakers and Buddhists to Wiccans and chaos magicians.

But it also extends beyond obvious belief systems and represents an attempt to label what is wrong with our culture as a whole. We live in a world where corporations are considered persons -- but are explicitly forbidden to operate according to moral principles. Things are more important than people and material possessions more important than self-fulfillment or dedication to a higher purpose.

And the word "spiritual," although it may not work for everyone, sums up better than anything else what is broken in our society and what many Occupiers see as needing fixing. The "one demand," if you will, from which all the others grow.